ARAB MEDALS -- Qatar

[Ed_Haynes]

A few sources (there aren't many):

http://faculty.winthrop.edu/haynese/medals/Qatar/qatar.html

http://www.omsa.org/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=605

http://www.coleccionesmilitares.com/cintas/cintasas.htm#q (click on Qatar)

http://www.medals.org.uk/qatar/qatar.htm

http://www.netdialogue.com/yy/Asia/Qatar/Qatar.htm

[Ed_Haynes]

Qashah al-Istihaqaq / Sash of Merit

Awarded to government ministers, ambassadors (Qatari and foreign), or to Qataris or non-Qataris who have rendered great services to the State of Qatar, to Arabs, or to humanity. A fairly common "departing ambassador" gift. The award is related to the Collar of Merit and the Order of Merit.

Established: By Law No. 5 of 1978. The award is produced by Arthus Bertrand of Paris.

Obverse: A 55-mm twelve-pointed dark-green-enameled gold star, with a central six-pointed gold star with floral-design points. In the center is the Qatar State emblem with the inscription in Arabic "Dawlat Qatar / Qasah al-Istihaqaq" or "The State of Qatar / Sash of Merit". The massive 91-mm gold breast star resembling the sash badge. Sash (worn over right shoulder), badge, and star (worn on left breast).

Reverse: Plain.

Ribbon: White with two broad maroon stripes and thin maroon edges.

The sash and badge:

[Ed_Haynes]

The breast star:

[Ed_Haynes]

Police Meritorious Service Medal

Established: 1979.

Ribbon: Blue with thin central stripes of white, maroon, white, maroon, white.

[Dave Danner]

Qashah al-Istihaqaq / Sash of Merit

Obverse: A 55-mm twelve-pointed dark-green-enameled gold star, with a central six-pointed gold star with floral-design points. In the center is the Qatar State emblem with the inscription in Arabic "Dawlat Qatar / Qasah al-Istihaqaq" or "The State of Qatar / Sash of Merit". The massive 91-mm gold breast star resembling the sash badge. Sash (worn over right shoulder), badge, and star (worn on left breast).

"Sash" is وشاح or wishāh (wi?āh if your browser supposrts little diacritical marks).

"Merit" is إستحقاق or istihqāq. No extra "a". This pattern where "isti-" is prefixed on a 3-letter root in the form CCāC (where C is any consonant) is often seen in abstract nouns, for example إستقِلال istiqlāl, "independence".

So the name, as it reads on the order, is وشاح الإستحقاق, or wi?āh al-'istihqāq, or wishah al-istihqaq in a looser transliteration more comfortable to English readers.

Police Meritorious Service Medal

The obverse has "Qatar" in the center (along with a fleck of bread? )

The reverse reads وسام الخدمة الجيدة, or wisām al-khidmat al-jayyidah, or Outstanding Service Decoration. Wisām comes from the root which means to brand (as in cattle), to mark, or to stamp. The closest literal equivalents would be English "sign" or German "Zeichen"; we generally translate Ehrenzeichen in German awards as "decoration", so I figure "decoration" might be appropriate for wisām. Jayyid literally means "good" but also has meanings of "perfect" and "outstanding"; the latter sounded more phaleristic.